Bloomberg reports that since Microsoft introduced the price drop to its Xbox 360 console range, sales have doubled compared to that of last weekend. Not only for the Arcade console which now retails at $199.00, but for the Pro and Elite consoles as well. When we previously speculated that the price drop would boost sales, many stated that the price point is not important enough to make a significant difference to consumers purchasing decision. Well the numbers are clearly stating the opposite, with the sales boost being more than significant and also putting a Microsoft console at a lower price point that the Nintendo Wii for the first time. Is the PS3 in trouble? While the Nintendo Wii is still the definite leader in the console wars and ahead by miles, the fight for second place as the best selling HD console still continues between the PS3 and the Xbox 360. If the boost brought about by the price drop continues into the Christmas season, Microsoft can look forward to a whole lot of sales. At the same time the PS3 has been outselling the Xbox 360 for a couple of months now and its lineup is looking incredibly appealing to say the least, not to mention all the families who may be interested in a new Blu-Ray player for the house. The upcoming season is going to be a real fight to the death as the two console manufacturers go head to head for market supremacy.

With PS3 sales overtaking Xbox 360 sales in the last couple of months there have been many articles and reports flying around the internet saying that the PS3 is finally starting to catch up to the 360 and may possibly even overtake it soon. Interesting concept, except for the fact that it's flawed. The current sales of the Xbox 360 and PS3 on VGchartz are as follows: Xbox 360: 20.44 Million Playstation 3: 15.05 Million The thing is, that if you look at the console sales, you can see that the gap in sales between the PS3 and Xbox 360 is still roughly the same as it was when the PS3 was launched. This means that in the current state, the sales of the PS3 are at best only matching the sales of the Xbox 360 even though sales for Sony's console have picked up recently. The PS3 is indeed becoming more popular and the past problems with the Xbox 360's hardware have made quite a difference. However, we all know that the Xbox 360 is going to be the only console offering HD next-gen gaming at the magic price of $199 US dollars. As we have stated in previous articles, come Christmas time, parents are going to be flocking to stores to ensure a truckload of new foul mouthed children join us on Xbox Live and when they do, the low price of the Xbox 360 is going to be incredibly tempting, especially with Nintendo's Wii suffering from shortages abroad. As much as the PS3 enjoys strong brand recognition and a a large fanbase from the PS2 generation, the purchasing decisions are that of the parents and not the children and when the price is right, the parents are all for it. So how is the the future of the PS3 looking? We spend so much time discussing exclusive titles and graphics comparisons that we forget that at the end of the day it largely comes down to parents, standing in a store, staring at shelves with PS3's and Xbox 360's on them. They don't care about MGS4 and Gears of War 2. They see a low price tag on one of them "new console thingamajigs" and the truth is, its not the PS3. It seems pretty obvious which one is going to be leaving in their trolley.

Matt Peckham over at PC World has put together a chart showing us the ‘real’ price difference between the PS3 and the various Xbox 360 models before and after the upcoming American price cut. The 360 is cheaper as a unit but if you want to ‘upgrade’ it to the capabilities of the PS3 then it becomes a lot more …